‘Bribes-for-jobs’ scandal: ‘No fraud by or against us’, says Tata Consultancy Services

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has refuted allegations of ‘fraud’ in its recruitment process, as it responded to media reports of a ‘bribes-for-jobs scandal’ rocking the IT major.

“We probed the allegations made in the complaint, and found out that the charges do not involve any fraud by or against the company, and financial impact. The reference to the alleged scam is incorrect,” TCS said in a statement to the exchanges on June 23. The ‘scandal’ was originally reported by HT’s sister publication Mint earlier that day.

The ‘complaint’ was sent to TCS chief executive officer (CEO) K Krithivasan, and chief operating officer (COO) N Ganapathy Subramaniam, by a whistleblower, who alleged that ES Chakravarthy, the global head of its resource management group (RMG) ‘accepted commissions from staffing firms for years.’

The RMG, the follow-up statement noted, ‘is entrusted with allocating resources to various projects, and fill shortfalls through contractors.’

“None of our key managerial positions has been involved in any irregularities. The issue relates to the breach of Code of Conduct by certain employees, and by vendors providing contractors,” it further stated.

How did TCS respond to whistleblower’s complaint?
The Mint report stated that the Mumbai-headquartered multinational firm tasked chief information security officer Ajit Menon, and two other executives, with probing the allegations. After weeks of probe, Chakravarthy (the global head of RMG) was sent on leave, four executives of the recruitment group were terminated, and as many as three staffing firms blacklisted.

Those involved in the ‘scam’ made at least ₹100 crore via commissions, the Mint report added.